How to Build a Fuel Efficiency Program with Samsara

A SAMSARA FUEL GUIDE

IntroductionEvery fleet manager wants to reduce fuel costs.

But building a fuel efficiency program that will actually

drive change can be challenging.

We’ve distilled industry best practices and advice

from leading customers into a playbook to guide you

through the design, implementation, and roll-out of a

new program.

Whether you’re already a Samsara customer or are

learning about Samsara for the first time, keep reading

to see how we can help you launch a successful fuel

efficiency program that reduces emissions, improves

driving behavior, and saves money.

Samsara Efficiency Product Family

About Samsara

Samsara is an all-in-one fleet solution built to serve

the operations that power our economy. By providing

end-to-end visibility and smarter insights, Samsara

empowers fleets to take action on their own data to

improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

01 Overview → Why invest in fuel efficiency

→ What you can do

→ Case study: GP Transco

02 Analyze → Examine current performance

→ Steps you can take

→ Set goals

03 Adjust → Develop a plan

→ Build a reward structure

→ Estimate impact and costs

→ Set up program reporting

04 Act → Secure buy-in

→ Roll out the program

→ Coach drivers

→ Measure performance

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Table of Contents

01CHAPTER OVERVIEW

→ Why invest in fuel efficiency

→ What you can do

→ Case study: GP Transco

Overview

OVERVIEW

$6B gallons of gasoline and diesel are

wasted each year due to idling. Source

+1 gal of fuel per hour is consumed by an

idling truck. Source

Why invest in fuel efficiency?

40% of total operating costs are fuel,

making it one of the highest costs

for fleets. Source

PRO TIP

Small changes make a big impact

Seemingly small changes can have a big impact on your bottom line.

Dohrn implemented a coaching program to keep every instance of idling

below seven minutes.

RESULTS:

→ 50% reduction in idling

→ 2% increase in fuel efficiency

across their entire fleet

→ ~150,000 gallones of fuel saved

→ Over 500,000 in savings per year

7

OVERVIEW

What can you do?The price of fuel may not be within your power, but there are many factors

affecting fuel economy that you can change.

02 – EMPLOY TELEMATICS

1. Detroit

2. Source: Automotive Fleet

1/3 of fuel usage factors are related to driver behavior 1

Driver behavior is a key cause of unnecessary

fuel spend. By identifying which behaviors are

costing your organization the most, you can

take action to correct them and save money.

5-10% of total fuel economy can be improved by telematics 2

Installing a telematics system can provide

new visibility into your operations, helping

you identify ways to reduce fuel consumption

through routing, utilization, and more.

01 – INVEST IN DRIVER BEHAVIOR

8

OVERVIEW

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

GP Transco saw great improvements in just five months after

implementing their FUEL (Fuel Utilization Efficiency Leaders)

program, which incentivizes and coaches drivers to be more fuel-

efficient on the road. The system is simple: drivers are ranked among

themselves by miles per gallon (MPG) and the top 50% receive an

additional one cent per mile driven. To keep everyone competitive,

they share the leaderboard report every 10 days.

FEATURES USED

→ Fuel and energy: Used report daily to monitor changes

in MPG and track idle times.

→ Engine idling alerts: Set up alerts so the team could

proactively interrupt idling.

→ Driver efficiency report: Tracked individual performances

to identify the top 50% of drivers and coach lower ranked

drivers to better results.

RESULTS

→ Saved an estimated

~205,000 gallons of

fuel in 2020

→ Over $350,000

in savings per year

→ Reduced idling by 35%

CASE STUDY: GP TRANSCO

How GP Transco increased MPG by 4.5%

READY TO BUILD YOUR OWN FUEL PROGRAM? READ ON →

02CHAPTER OVERVIEW

→ Examine current performance

→ Steps you can take

→ Set goals

Analyze

10

ANALYZE

Examine current performance Before you launch into a program, it’s important to take stock of where things

stand. By gathering data on your current fleet performance, you can assess

where your problem areas are, where efficiencies can be gained, and where

you can implement programs to drive toward the greatest impact.

Here are a few of the most important factors that affect your fleet’s fuel

efficiency that you can investigate:

→ Fuel costs: The price of fuel ranges across locations. If your drivers are

purchasing fuel at higher costs, that can add up over time and affect

your bottom line.

→ Vehicle age and size: Older and larger vehicles are less fuel efficient

than newer and smaller ones. Using older vehicles predominantly may

hurt your fuel economy.

→ Routing: Traffic, personal preference, and construction can all cause

drivers to take less than optimal routes that lead to worse fuel

efficiency. Reviewing routes and making adjustments can make a big

difference.

→ Driving behavior: How a vehicle is driven — whether the driver is idling,

harsh braking or rapidly accelerating, for example — plays a large role

in efficient fuel use.

→ Maintenance: Tires issues, old oil, and other problems can lead to

decreased fuel efficiency. This is why it’s important to adhere to a

preventative maintenance schedule and address small maintenance

issues before they become larger problems.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

→ What problem(s) am I trying

to solve?

→ What do I already know?

→ What additional information

do I need to form a plan?

11

ANALYZE

Steps you can takeLook across a number of Samsara reports to gain insights into

your driver behavior, fuel usage, and efficiency data.

Step 01 – Look at fuel costs

Use the Fuel Purchases Report to cross reference CSVs of fuel

purchase information to validate purchases and calculate fuel costs.

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

→ Is your average cost per gallon accurate?

→ Are total fuel costs rising or falling?

→ Where are drivers purchasing fuel?

→ Are there fraudulent fill ups or anything out of the ordinary?

→ Are drivers purchasing low cost fuel?

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ANALYZE

Step 02 – Investigate vehicle performance

Use the Fuel and Energy Report to compare vehicle efficiency across your

entire fleet and all vehicle types. Track MPG, Fuel Usage, and Distance to

identify trends. Use tags to compare similar vehicle types and look across

locations and terminal performance.

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

→ What vehicles have low efficiency scores?

How do they compare to similar vehicle types?

→ How do terminals or locations perform differently?

Why might there be differences?

→ Why are scores low? MPG? Heavy idling?

→ Are we maximizing the utilization of our most-efficient vehicles

and minimizing utilization of our least-efficient vehicles?

PRO TIP

Factors affecting fuel use:

→ Vehicle Size

→ Vehicle Age

→ Trip Types (Long Haul vs. City)

→ Idling

13

ANALYZE

Step 03 – Dive into individual driving behavior

Use the Driver Efficiency Report to monitor and coach inefficient driving

habits with an individual driver and overall fleet efficiency score. Examine

seven key levers that influence efficiency—idling, speed, cruise control,

coasting, torque, anticipation, and Green Band RPM—to identify areas for

improvement.

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

→ What is your fleet’s overall efficiency score?

→ What fuel-inefficient behaviors do you see across your fleet?

→ What levers could your drivers improve as a whole?

→ How are individual drivers performing? Which drivers have the

lowest scores?

→ Why do you think their scores lower? What areas are they struggling?

PRO TIP

Why individual scores may be lower:

→ Heavy idling

→ Harsh braking

→ Rapid acceleration

→ Changes in speed

→ Heavy speeding

14

ANALYZE

Step 04 – Check vehicle maintenance

Use the Maintenance Report to ensure you are maintaining vehicles

properly and on a regular cadence. See if there are any fault codes coming

up that you can respond to and make sure you have schedules and alerts in

place for all vehicles.

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

→ How frequently do you do vehicle maintenance, engine checks, and

tire pressure checks?

→ Are there any vehicles that would be economically smart to retire?

PRO TIP

Common goals for fuel efficiency:

→ Reduce idling

→ Increase MPG

→ Improve efficient driving

behavior

→ Reduce CO2 emissions

→ Add more green vehicles

→ Improve routing

15

ANALYZE

Set goalsOnce you have a sense of your current performance and potential areas

for improvement, identify 2-3 goals for your fleet. These goals will change

depending on your fleet’s problem areas.

ADVICE ON SELECTING GOALS:

→ If you see a high percentage of idling time, identify a target improvement that seems achievable, but ambitious.

→ Whether you aim for a 5% or 50% improvement will depend

upon the severity of the problem and the difficulty of changing

that specific behavior.

→ It’s important to choose a visible outward goal that will

empower you to rally your team and hold everyone accountable.

PRO TIP

Building a fuel program

Remember that some metrics will require taking into account

the make, model, and year of your vehicles.

For example, MPG will change dramatically depending on

the type of vehicle, how old it is, and what type of routes it is

undergoing. However, other metrics like idling can be examined

more holistically across your fleet.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

→ What do I actually want to

change?

→ Are you looking to achieve a

percentage change, such as

improving MPG by 2%?

→ Are you hoping to save money

or implement a behavioral

change?

16

ANALYZE

6 Key metrics to improve fuel efficiency

Fuel consumption

Fuel cost

Fuel efficiency

Engine run time

Idle time

Idle time percentage

The amount of fuel used by

each vehicle in a set timeframe.

The cost of fuel consumed across

your entire fleet.

The time that the engine is on but

the vehicle is not moving.

The miles per gallon (MPG) of a

driver/vehicle pair in a set timeframe.

The time that the vehicle engine

is loaded or running.

The idle time as a percentage of

total engine run time.

These metrics are common starting places for setting goals

for fuel efficiency programs.

KEY METRICS

PRINT ME OR TEAR ME OUT

Goals other customers have set

GP Transco

Transportation and Logistics

KeHe

Food and Beverage

Dohrn Transfer Company

Transportation and Logistics

City of Fort Lauderdale State and Local Government

DOT Foods Food and Beverage

CUSTOMER SIZE GOAL

400 drivers

410 tractors

550 trailers

700 drivers

550 trucks

645 drivers

470 tractors

75 straight trucks

1,700 different

vehicles types

1,500 vehicles

5% increase in MPG: Incentivize driver

behavior, such as minimizing idling and

leveraging cruise control.

Improve MPG from 6 to 6.5 MPG: Coach drivers on efficient behaviors to

increase MPG every year for five years.

Keep idling under 5%: Aim is for drivers

to idle for no more than 5% of their time

behind the wheel.

Keep idling incidents under 7 min: Keeping idling incidents shorter with

alerts helped reduce idling overall.

Reduce idling by 50%: Successfully

reduce idling with a coaching program.

Reduce fuel consumption by 5%: The City reduced fuel use by cutting

idling and improving driving habits.

Purchase at the best $/gal: Incentivize

drivers to look for the lowest rates in

the region by offering a list of approved

service stations.

PRO TIP

Don’t set goals too high initially

KeHE worked with their sustainability team to:

→ Analyze their fleet performance

→ Identify fuel benchmarks

→ Set a north star goal

They broke this goal into smaller, yearly goals, and rolled

them out to the team to make progress achievable.

Set attainable goals so drivers can see

the progress small incremental changes

can make and buy into the program.”

03CHAPTER OVERVIEW

→ Develop a plan

→ Build a reward structure

→ Estimate impact and costs

→ Set up program reporting

Adjust

COMMON PATHS TO FUEL PROGRAMS

After answering these questions, work backward to create an

implementation plan. Creating an implementation timeline can help you

organize your efforts, align internal stakeholders, and ensure an efficient

and successful deployment.

Identify key milestones that you’ll need to complete and schedule a

regular meeting to track progress and stay accountable to your plan.

Common focuses for fuel programs

Fuel costs

Maintenance

Routing and dispatch

Driver performance

Examine your current fuel costs and think through how you can

cut them down. Where are drivers purchasing fuel? Is there

anything out of the ordinary in fuel purchases and use?

How frequently are you maintaining your vehicles?

How often do you replace your vehicles? How old is your fleet?

What changes can you make to your vehicles and routing to improve

efficiency? Are you using your newest vehicles most frequently?

What fuel inefficient behaviors do you see across your fleet? Idling?

Rapid braking? How are individual drivers performing? Who is doing

well and who needs help?

20

ADJUST

Develop a planOnce you have identified your goals, start building a plan to help you

reach them. This can feel daunting when you have never done it before

or if you are trying to update an existing process. Walking through the questions on page 21 can serve as a starting point.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

→ Make a plan based on

your analysis

→ Outline the changes needed

to make progress

→ Adapt your dashboard to

be ready

What are you trying to optimize? (circle one)

a) An existing program or b) Building a new program

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7.

6.

8.

Guiding question worksheet

What is your key goal that you would like to achieve?

What policies and processes can you introduce to encourage better driver behavior that reduces fuel use?

What training will your team need to implement these policies?

How will you kick off this program?

Will you offer an incentive program to reward good behaviors?

How will you coach drivers on proper techniques?

What is your timeline and how will you track success?

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ADJUST

PRINT ME OR TEAR ME OUT

01. Examine your performance

Identify opportunities for improvement

using the Fuel & Energy Report and the

Driver Efficiency Report.

02. Set idling goals

Establish “north star” goals for idling

reduction over the course of the year,

such as an overall average increase in

MPG for your entire fleet.

03. Benchmark

Identify key benchmarks toward your

overarching goal that you want to hit each

quarter and share with your team.

04. Create rewards

Establish an incentive structure for drivers

that will encourage better driving behaviors

and help you reach these goals.

05. Set key metrics

Work with fleet managers to align on

coaching approaches and metrics to watch

out for, such as drivers being in the lower

50% of the Driver Efficiency Report for idling

or spending more than 5% of their time idling.

06. Get feedback

Ask drivers for input on program structure

and roll-out plan.

07. Communication

Roll out a new policy and coaching program

for your drivers by explaining the goal and

the rewards for better performance.

08. Track trends

Monitor your fleet idling percentages and

costs using the Fuel & Energy report. Track

trends and see which drivers need the

most help with the Driver Efficiency Report.

If you set limits on idling, set idling alerts

to immediately see any breaches of your

policies.

09. Coaching methods

Coach lower performing drivers with

examples from better performing drivers.

Show them their data and encourage

healthy competition.

10. Communication

Report changes weekly and recognize

drivers or teams that are performing well

with emails, leader boards, or small prizes.

How to build an idling program

11. Set reporting goals

Set monthly or quarterly program goals and report on progress.

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ADJUST

Build a reward structure One of the best ways to quickly align the company’s priorities with your

driving teams is to introduce rewards. Rewards are a great way to incentivize

good driving behaviors, share the benefits of fuel efficiency with your drivers,

and improve driver retention.

Think through how you want to incentivize better behaviors in your drivers by

considering a rewards program. Make sure to include the cost of the rewards

program in your planning so you can get approval in your budget.

Choose great rewards

To maximize engagement, the rewards you choose should be attractive and

relevant. Allowing drivers to share in some of your fuel savings by rewarding

top performers with monetary gifts, special privileges, or other prizes is a

great incentive.

REWARDS THAT WORK

WHY INVEST IN REWARDS?

83%of employees say that rewards make

them feel more engaged with their job.

79%of employees say they work

harder when they feel recognized.

Company-wide recognition

Gift card

Company-

branded gear

Poster or sign in the break room

Engraving on a

Wall of Honor

Salary bonus

Patch, trophy,

or certificateExtra vacation day

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ADJUST

PRO TIP

Help all drivers succeed

Rewards should also be

inclusive and frequent; only

celebrating the best performer

in a year neglects drivers

who have made significant

improvements. Make sure that

all participants know that they

have an equal opportunity to

succeed by distributing rewards

monthly or quarterly rather

than yearly—Samsara scores

refresh regularly, making each

week a new chance to improve

performance.

Estimate impact and costs As you identify your goals and how to reach them, calculate what it will

cost you to implement and how much it will ultimately save.

FREQUENT THINGS TO CONSIDER INCLUDE:

→ Cost of the change: How many man hours will it take to implement

this change?

→ Cost of rewards: If you’re incentivizing drivers, how much will the

program cost?

→ Rate of adoption: How many people will adjust their performance?

→ Estimated savings: How much will these changes save? How long will

it take you to make up the costs?

Present your budget and the impact of your program to your leadership

team to showcase the projected ROI.

Set up program reporting Visit the Settings page on the Dashboard to make programmatic changes

and adjustments that will help you track your goals. By tailoring your

dashboard to your goals, setting triggered alerts and setting up Documents,

you can collect accurate data that will improve your performance. Below are

a few more steps you can take to monitor and track your program.

Set up scheduled reports for the Fuel and Energy Report

Keep up to date on your fuel metrics by receiving your

Fuel and Energy metrics on a weekly basis.

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ADJUST

Customize your driver efficiency score

The Driver Efficiency report assigns scores to each of your drivers based

on seven parameters, which are equally weighted by default. You can

adjust these to track your impact more closely.

→ Choose which lever you want to target to achieve your goals and

weigh that one more heavily.

→ Configure the upper and lower bands. For example, if you’re targeting

less than 10% idling, you can set that as the goal and then also set a

bar for the lower bands to identify underperformers.

PRO TIP

KeHE turned off two of the

parameters because they

didn’t feel as important to their

business. They then weighted

idling heaviest because

idling was their “biggest fuel

killer.” This helped them focus

their team on key areas of

improvement.

BONUS

Make iterative changes

If you’re focusing on idling,

weigh the idling levers more

heavily initially.

→ Monitor changes and track

the impact to your score.

→ Once you have a handle on

idling and your score rises,

you can set a new internal goal and focus on another key metric.

→ Clearly communicate this

policy change to drivers to

avoid confusion.

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05

02

06

03

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04

Cruise control

Anticipation

Coasting (any gear)

Idling

High torque

Over speed

Green band

7 KEY PARAMETERS

How to set up Driver Efficiency Scores:

Go to Settings > Fuel & Energy > Driver Efficiency. You could either edit the default profile or create a new configuration profile.

Set relative weights of different driver behavior parameters; weights would

affect the relative contribution of a parameter to an overall score.

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ADJUST

Configure alerts

Set up alerts to track the targeted behaviors. Alerts can be filtered by

group, vehicle type, or tag and configured with “black out” periods. For

example, identify excessive idling by setting an idle time limit, after

which, you will be sent an alert.

How to Set Up Alerts:

→ Go to Alerts > Configure

→ Select “Vehicle Engine Idle”

→ Choose which vehicles this will apply to and designate times and days

of the week to silence notifications under the Schedule section.

→ Add contacts under the Sent Contact Notifications section to receive

notifications in the event that the alert is triggered

Update fuel costs

Across the dashboard, fuel cost estimates are given an initial, default

value based on the US National average. Customizing this cost per

gallon will update your cost estimates your in-dashboard reporting going

forward, providing a more accurate view of your costs and savings. The

Fuel Cost History will provide a record of every Fuel Cost change.

How to Set Up Fuel Costs:

→ Go to Settings > Fuel & Energy to set your own custom fuel cost

PRO TIP

Idling alerts

Dohrn set up Idling Alerts

to notify dispatchers when

vehicle idle time went

over seven minutes, then

proactively reached out to

drivers to reduce idling.

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ADJUST

Integrate fuel cards

Integrating fuel cards is a great way to manage your fuel spend in one

place, track GPS data with fuel purchases to reduce fuel fraud, and

strengthen fuel efficiency reporting. By setting up a fuel card integration

(such as with FLEETCOR) on the Samsara platform, you’ll be better able to

analyze fuel spend and detect suspicious activity.

How to set up a Fuel Card integration:

→ Navigate to Settings > Fuel & Energy > Fuel Cards.

→ Select ‘Get Started’ and choose Comdata|FLEETCOR from the drop

down. Then enter your 8 or 5 digit FLEETCOR Account/Group Number

and contact email address, and view and accept the Samsara Data

Import & Sharing Addendum.

→ Download and sign the FLEETCOR Data Waiver and email the

completed form to fuelcards@samsara.com to complete the

integration.

Improve maintenance

In addition to driver behavior, improving your maintenance cadence can be a

great way to drive down fuel costs. Here are four ways you can improve fuel

efficiency with better maintenance workflows:

→ Tire pressure monitoring: One of the easiest and cheapest ways to

improve fuel efficiency is a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

Samsara reads tire pressure for some vehicles and setting up a TPMS

integration, like PressurePro, can help you get data across your fleet,

helping you ensure your vehicles are in top condition.

→ Schedule preventative maintenance: Create preventative

maintenance schedules and alerts so you can better manage your

preventative maintenance schedule. Choose the appropriate schedule

for all vehicles of a particular class (for example, mileage for light duty

vehicles or engine hours for heavy equipment).

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ADJUST

→ Set up maintenance alerts: Set up a Vehicle Faults alert that notifies

you the instant an engine fault occurs. Understanding the details

can also help your team diagnose problems remotely and respond

appropriately, so that your vehicles are kept running smoothly.

→ Check the maintenance log: Use the Maintenance log to keep track of

service activities and costs associated with each vehicle. This can help

you find potential issues with quality of service that impact fuel use.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

→ Secure buy-in

→ Roll out the program

→ Coach drivers

→ Measure performance

Act04

BONUS TIP

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ACT

Secure buy-in The next step in building a successful fuel program is getting internal buy-

in from your leadership team and a select group of drivers.

WAYS TO QUICKLY ENGAGE YOUR TEAM:

→ Share your 2-3 goals, timeline, strategy, budget, and incentive structure

→ Explain the impact and benefits this program will offer to the company,

to management, and drivers

Drivers are often skeptical of change; this is completely normal, but

securing their buy-in with the program is key to its success. Including a

few drivers in the program design process can help them feel heard and

to secure engagement. Work with them on the best way to engage every

member of your fleet in this program–whether it be by offering incentives,

recognizing top performers, or leading by example.

PRO TIP

Aligning stakeholders

→ Identify a core working

team of 5-6 people

→ Choose a project lead

and set up weekly progress

check-ins

→ Agree on the goals of

your program upfront

→ Identify an executive

sponsor

→ Showcase the benefits

to the company

Running a small pilot can set the stage for success

Engage a group of medium- to high-idling drivers, see

their success, and then use their feedback to improve the

program and provide testimonials.

31

ACT

Sample Milestones

Examine your current fleet performance and identify

areas of improvement

Determine what

incentive structure to offer

Calculate the estimated ROI for this strategy

Work with your core team to set 2-3 overarching goals

Break goals into smaller

numbers and build a timeline

Share the plan with other

teams impacted by this effort

Build a program strategy to reach those goals

Create a budget to

support that strategy

Identify an executive project sponsor and get their support

1

4

7

2

5

8

3

6

9

32

ACT

Present plan to leadership and secure their buy-in

Set a kick-off date for the program

Train drivers on best driving practices and share incentives

Share the plan with managers and refine your plan based

on feedback

Train managers on key goals and coaching procedures

Report updates on a regular cadence

Conduct a pilot with key drivers and refine your plan

based on feedback

Host a full kick-off with your entire team

Celebrate the best drivers

Showcase progress to goal every quarter

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11

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19

12

15

18

Measure progress on an annual level to show results

to executives

20

Sample Milestones (cont’d)

33

ACT

Roll out the programOnce you have your team on board, it’s time to roll out the program.

PRO TIP

Empower managers

KeHE recommends setting

a top-tier goal and giving

managers power and discretion

to coach their drivers to

reach that metric. If progress

stagnates, their leadership

team circles up their managers

and highlights potential

areas for improvement. But

by keeping the goals simple

and incentivizing manager

performance, they can

empower their managers to

drive change.

Pick your kick off date

Establish a clear timeline and pick the date when

you will announce the program.

Train managers and coaches

Hold small scale training sessions to ensure that

your team knows the benchmarks and key metrics

for this program, how to track progress, coach

drivers on behavior, and how to use the dashboard.

Launch pilot of full program

This is a critical moment. Transparent

communication is key—especially if this is the

first time you’re rolling out a fuel program. Ensure

everyone understands the common goals and

benefits of this initiative.

Train drivers proactively Hold training sessions with your team to

highlight good driving behavior. Have your driver

representatives share their vision for the program

and introduce the incentives for best practices.

Highlight drivers who are already close to or

achieving these goals to prove that this initiative

is attainable and not simply aspirational.

01

02

03

04

KEY STEPS INCLUDE:

34

ACT

Coach driversIt’s not enough to simply announce your goals; you need to actively coach

drivers and provide feedback. Aside from the vehicle’s performance, driver behavior is what most affects vehicle fuel efficiency. Building a consistent,

data-driven driver coaching workflow into your day-to-day operations is the

key to improving fuel efficiency.

SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO COACH:

→ Set up alerts and coach promptly: One of the best ways to see

traction is to coach drivers in real time. Setting up alerts for a few

specific behaviors you want to target—like speeding, idling, and harsh

braking, for example—will help your back office respond quickly to

what matters most.

→ Set clear expectations: Engage everyone in the effort by sharing your

goals publicly and setting clear expectations for driver performance.

Post signs in common areas and send weekly updates.

→ Conduct group coaching sessions: This is particularly important if

you have a large fleet and limited coaching bandwidth. Maximize

your impact by proactively coaching drivers in group sessions

and reserving 1:1 coaching sessions for drivers who dip below a

predetermined driver efficiency score threshold.

→ Standardize your response: Be consistent with corrective actions.

Consistency is key for credibility and trust, especially if your drivers

are part of a union. Train your management team to know what to look

for and how to bring it up with drivers. Document best practices and

give your coaches standardized scripts for responding to different

types of events.

→ Celebrate wins: Make sure to recognize and reward the moments

when your drivers respond appropriately. Offer rewards to top drivers

weekly or monthly, so that every team member feels that they have a

chance to win. Showcase examples of great behavior in emails to the

entire team.

→ Create friendly competition by gamifying driver efficiency scores: Countless studies have shown that when an activity is more fun,

people are more likely to do it. Encourage healthy competition by

having a leaderboard with the top 10 drivers and praising who have

made the greatest progress.

PRO TIP

Scorecards

Dohrn Transfer Company

anonymizes driver names and

posts printed driver idling

scorecards in the main driver

sign in area. This transparency

helps inspire healthy

competition among drivers.

35

ACT

PLACES TO COACH DRIVERS FOR IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY:

→ Idling: Engine idling wears on the vehicle and increases the overall

cost per mile. By minimizing excessive idling, fleets can save up to

$6,000 per vehicle annually.

→ Cruise control: Cruise control helps maintain the constant speed of

the vehicle. However, it can be worse for the vehicle’s efficiency if

drivers use this technology for uphill travel or within heavy traffic. By

tracking the impact of this feature, you can coach drivers on how to

properly use cruise control to decrease fuel consumption.

→ Coasting: Drivers lose forward momentum each time they use

their brakes to stop their vehicle. By anticipating upcoming traffic,

pedestrians in crosswalks, and traffic lights in advance, drivers can

determine when the proper time is to slow down. By doing this well

before the obstacle, they can improve their fuel efficiency. Using

minimization acceleration techniques and braking while maximizing

coasting reduces friction on the engine, saving on gas and repairs and

adding to a vehicle’s lifespan.

→ Maintain a stable speed: As much as 20% more fuel is consumed

when a vehicle’s speed suddenly changes through harsh braking or

harsh acceleration. The optimal fuel efficiency speed varies by the

type of vehicle. However, this speed is typically between 35 and 50

MPH.

PRO TIP

Driver performance

GP Transco shows drivers

who need help what top-

performing drivers are doing.

This shows that improvements

are possible and helps share

best practices.

36

ACT

Measure performanceAfter implementing your program, make sure to measure its efficacy and

impact. Samsara’s fuel and maintenance reports can help you get new

visibility into key fuel efficiency metrics, like idling time by driver.

Four ways to track metrics in the Samsara platform

01–DRIVER EFFICIENCY REPORT

→ Track progress on 7 different driving behavior metrics, including idling, that

influence fuel consumption

→ Track individual driver’s behavior through

the efficiency scores

→ Look at your fleet performance as a whole

through your fleet score

02–FUEL AND EFFICIENCY REPORT

→ Examine fuel consumption across your fleet

→ Deep dive into idling time and identify where

and when it is happening

→ Use tags to compare performance across

regions, vehicle types, and more

→ Track MPG, fuel usage, and distance to

ensure progress moving forward

37

ACT

Four ways to track metrics in the Samsara platform (cont’d)

03– PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE REPORT

→ Ensure vehicles are being serviced

regularly and are kept in tip-top condition

with Preventative Maintenance

04–FUEL COSTS

→ Use the Fuel Purchases Report to understand your costs

→ Compare spend from last year to this year

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